Now As I Wake
by poryu
Summary: Sequel to While He Sleeps. Kaname finally wakes... only to find an unmoving Zero beside him.


**Author's Note: ** Hey guys! This is the sequel to **While He Sleeps** , a oneshot I published a couple days ago. I was really just going to leave it hanging like that (a cliffie!), so that you guys can imagine what happens next - happy or not - based on what you'd like. But so many of you reviewed, saying you wanted to see Kaname's POV (even though you guys already said it was heartbreaking LOL. Masochists much? XD). And well, I just couldn't deny you guys hahaha. Hope you guys enjoy this continuation/spin-off!

 **Disclaimer:** Characters belong to **Matsuri Hino.**

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' _I...I love...you...'_

He felt so... weird.

Like his body was made of lead - much too heavy for him to move. Strange as it sounded, it felt like he could not quite command the use of his limbs, as if his mind had woken up before his body. "Mind over matter" - that was something he had always lived by. But right now, it wasn't working.

It was a sensation he'd never experienced before, one that was both foreign and unpleasant. And it made him anxious. It made his heart race, the pounding in his chest so palpable he could almost imagine something physically hammering within him.

But then his senses gradually returned.

And right away, his initial alarm vanished.

For a most welcome and wondrous scent surrounded him, one that he would recognise anywhere, half-conscious or not.

' _Zero...'_ sighed Kaname in contentment.

And somehow, the knowledge that his beloved was right next to him was enough to break him out of the paralysis his body had been trapped in.

Bleary burgundy eyes slowly blinked open.

A familiar carmine ceiling and extravagant chandelier greeted him, instantly informing him that he was in his room, lying in his bed. He shifted slightly, still trying to figure out how to control his body.

Why did it feel as if he had not moved in _decades_? His body felt foreign and unused, as if it wasn't the same one he had grown up and lived in for years now.

But as other senses started to return, more of his present situation was revealed to him. A heavy weight was resting on his shoulder, he realized, comfortable warmth radiating from the right side of his body.

The corners of the pureblood's lips turned upwards.

Without a doubt, he knew that it was his dear hunter laying beside him.

Perhaps he should have wondered at the fact that Zero had not been awakened by his disjointed motions, considering what a light sleeper the ex-human usually was. However, Kaname paid it no mind, too focused on his lover's presence.

With concerted effort, the pureblood turned on his side, bidding his stiff arms to curl around the warm, lanky form next to his.

'Hey... wake up, sleepyhead,' teased Kaname as he rolled over to face his lover. He let out a soft hiss when his muscles and joints protested violently at that movement, sending stabs of pain shooting through him.

Zero must have been pretty tired to be so dead to the world, surmised the pureblood. His eyelids fluttered shut as he stilled, taking a deep breath and trying to stop his nerves from firing more pain signals to his brain.

Perhaps Kaname had overdone it the previous night? It _had_ happened a couple of times before, after all - him losing control of his desires and refusing to let go of Zero till they both passed out in each other's arms. That would at least partially explain why he felt so out of sorts.

But it didn't explain why he didn't have any memory of it.

Unless...

 _Was I drunk?_

Dry lips parted, ready to voice that question aloud.

But then his eyes fell on his bed partner for the first time since his awakening.

He instantly froze, eyes widening in shock.

 _Who...?_

The figure before him had a messy mop of light hair, reminiscent of Zero's locks. However, upon a closer look, they were very noticeably different. Where Zero's were a natural, glittering silver, these were painted the white that resulted from the ageing of a human - a weakened body no longer capable of maintaining its initial hair colouring.

Skin that had once been smooth and flawless under Kaname's fingertips were now wrinkled, with small brown age spots littering the paper-thin skin like spots on a leopard. Lines peeked out from the corner of closed eyes and lips - lines that had never been there before.

Lines that should _not_ have been there.

Kaname's breath escaped him in a mad rush as he sat up hurriedly. The sudden motion nearly had him keeling over, his body still too sluggish to be able to adjust quickly enough to the abrupt change in position.

But he scarcely noticed, horrified gaze never once leaving his lover.

For it was clear that was who this person was.

His lover, his heart and soul, his _**everything.**_

'Zero...'

 _How is this possible!? How could Zero have aged so much all of a sudden?_

'Zero, wake up,' urged the pureblood. His beseechment came out as a weak croak, partially due to the prolonged disuse of his voice... but mostly because of the terror that now firmly gripped his heart.

When the hunter didn't even stir, Kaname grabbed hold of one bony shoulder, giving it as rough a shake as his uncooperative body would allow.

 _'Zero!'_

Still no response.

Cold stark horror swirled within the pureblood as amethyst eyes remained firmly hidden under closed eyelids.

 _Why was this happening!? Why...? Zero!_

Two trembling fingers fumbled their way to the side of Zero's neck, pressing down on the blood vessel there.

...it was just his shaking hands that made him unable to feel a pulse, right?

It _had_ to be.

 _Definitely_.

After all, there was no way that Zero had d-

No, _no way._

A sudden sob erupted from between the pureblood's lips as Zero remained motionless in his arms, head lolling lifelessly against Kaname's shoulder.

 _'_ Zero, wake up... please, just wake up...'

He hadn't noticed it happening, but somehow his cheeks were now streaked with hot, heavy tears. Fresh ones continued to fall, unbidden yet unstoppable, trailing down his face, one after another.

His throat constricted, airways narrowing as more heart-wrenching sobs began to push their way out of him. He couldn't barely breathe, now that each inhalation had turned into a choked gasp. His head was spinning madly, making him feel as if he were at the tip of an endlessly-spinning top. Perhaps the lack of oxygen in his circulation was one contributing factor, but the main reason was because of the fact that _Zero was de-_

 _De-_

 _He was..._

 _He was dead._

 _Zero was dead._

 ** _Dead._**

'Zero... _Zero...'_ keened the pureblood, uncaring of the fact that the front of his tee was now soaked to the skin. He clutched his frail lover closer to him, baulking at how thin and light the hunter had become.

Why had things turned out this way!? It had all been going so well... he had _finally_ gotten Zero in his arms - after all those years of watching silently from afar, finally, _finally,_ Zero was his. Completely and solely _his._

Things were only supposed to get better from then on. It wasn't supposed to be like this, it _wasn't!_

No, _no,_ it couldn't just end like _this!_

He wouldn't allow it.

Definitely _not._

Lowering his face to Zero's neck, Kaname took a deep, wheezing breath, filling his lungs with Zero's familiar scent.

Then he sunk his fangs into the pale column.

The familiar taste of Zero's blood exploded onto his senses, flowing past his parched throat like precious water he'd been denied after years in the desert. For a few seconds, he could not help but gulp greedily at the mouth-watering elixir.

 _More, more,_ demanded his stomach. _Take some more!_

Delicious beyond words; fulfilling beyond anything imaginable; satisfying like no other.

But, all too soon, reality came crashing down hard on him, reminding him of what _exactly_ it was that he was doing.

The pureblood immediately drew back, blinking back the tears that were obscuring his vision. Sharp eyes stared intently at his lover, searching... searching...

For any twitching of limbs.

For soft, pale lips parting in a sigh.

For amethyst eyes blinking open.

For something...

 _...Anything._

 _But why was **nothing** happening!?_

With a choked, broken sob, Kaname buried his face in white tresses, hot tears pouring endlessly from his eyes as he embraced the hunter as tightly as he could.

'Please... please just wake up, Zero,' whispered the pureblood, voice cracking as he pleaded with his unresponsive lover. 'Don't leave me, please...'

And then... and then...

The body in his arms shuddered, ever so softly.

The pureblood gave a sharp intake of breath, immediately straightening up.

'Zero...!?'

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _'Kaname...'_

A name, whispered in a soft sigh.

And then Zero's eyes opened.

 **END.**

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I was seriously tempted to end this off on an evil cliffie again LOL. But I couldn't, after all. XD Hope this satisfies you guys' idea of a suitable ending for this fic! For those who prefer cliffies/the implication that Zero doesn't wake up, you can just pretend the story ended with **While He Sleeps** (that's why I posted this as a separate fic!), or any suitable point within this fic. :)

I'm really pleased with the way I ended this though hahah :) I hope you guys feel the same. (It almost ended up the other way...)

Either way, thank you so much for reading this to the end! And a super huge **THANK YOU** to all those who reviewed **While He Sleeps**. I never expected to get so much feedback on that. I guess angsty, tragedy fics get a lot more comments. Does that mean I should write more of those...? LOOL!

I just want to clarify that the reason why Kaname is so super weak and sluggish here is because he's slept for a _century._ So it's taking him some time to get used to being up and moving again. I wanted to show Kaname struggling to deal with this at the same time he has to deal with Zero's situation. Also, because it wasn't explicitly stated in the fic, I think this point might've been missed - when Kaname bit Zero, it was his attempt to turn Zero back into a vampire so that he would live.

Tell me what you guys think about this! Thank you! :)

 **Reviews for the guest reviewers on While He Sleeps:**

 **XtAG** : Thank you so much for your review :) Haha, your review really made me laugh! I'm so glad you thought it was cool hehe. I felt as though all the AU stuff I was introducing was a little too much, especially for such a short fic. Still, I'm really happy you liked it :) Thank you again for the review and hope you enjoyed this continuation.

 **Guest:** Awww, I'm so sorry if I made you feel overly depressed :( Still glad that I managed to make people feel something with my writing. And I'm so relieved you still loved it anyway! :) Hope you enjoy this fic too! And thank you so much for the review! :)

 **Guest:** Hahaha I'm not quite sure what to make of the 'ehhhh!?' Was that a 'oh no, why did it end like that!?' kind of ehhh!? or a 'huh that was totally ridiculous' kind of ehhh!? I hope you enjoyed the story, though :) And this one as well. Thank you for taking the time to leave me a review! :D


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